Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1887-02-23
THE FEET AND THE HEAD,
A DOCTOR GIVES SOME HINTS THAT
MAY BE USEFUL TO HUMANITY.

Cold Feet and Headaches said to 60
Hand in Hand, SO to Speak-The Rea-
son Why-Remedy for the Trouble.
Useful Hints.
The days of cold feet and headaches
have come. Medicine, unfortunately,
can do very little for these troubles, and
persons afflicted in this way must make
up their minds to suffer or else give over
the habit Of dressing the feet after the
conventional mode If headaches and
cold feet were all the ills that arise from
the improper treatment of the feet and
lack of attention to their needs, the
foibles of fashion might be followed at
perhaps the expense of few hours dis
comfort, but unluckily these troubles are
but the beginning of other disorders and
many terrible nervous affections.
''Cold feet and headaches go hand in
hand, as it were, said a physician con
nected with one of the city hospitals to a
reporter. The person who has cold feet is
almost sure 10 have violent nervous head
aches. Why? Because the blood not cir
culating in the eXtremities. is crowded
into the upper portion of the body and
eXerts an undue pressure upon the blood
vessels of the brain. Nothing causes con
gestion of the internal organs more quick
ly than this crowding OF the blood into the
body that should circulate freely to and
through the eXtremities
PERPETUATISG TIE DIFFICULTY.
The trouble increases in proportion to
the continuance of the practice of ignOr
ing the needs of the feet. The blood YES
sells of the extremities become thickened
and narrowed by the lack Of flow of the
vital fluid, and thus the difficulties are
perpetuated. Persons suffering in this
way-and who is not to IA greater or less
extent-shouid soak their feet every
night in warm water and take plenty of
out door exercise This copnteracts the
tendency to congestion, enlaTEes the YES
sells and helps permanently to relieve the
feet of their special tendency to coldness.
The conventional shoe. perhaps, does
more to keep the feet cold than any other
thing. 4 loose shoe. know, is quite as
uncomfortable as a tight one. l know,
also, that shoe should fit as closely as a
stocking. But where it should be tight is
around the ankle, across the instep and
around the arch of the foot and heel. 1t
should have, however, loose upper and
a large sole The homes of the foot need
plenty of room for the movement. A
loose shoe is quite as productive Of corns
and other discomforts as the one that
pinches; but il it pulls the muscles of the
feet awry, pinches np the bones in one
place and let's them spread out in another
until they can have no natural action the
circulation must be interfered with.
Women are more troubled with cold feet
than men. In fact, they are more gener-
ally afflicted with diseases of the feet than
men. There are very few women that do
not have corrugated nails, and yet there
is no more need of it than that they should
have misshapen nails on their fingers.
RESULTS OF BAD TREATMENT.
Have YOU ever noticed at the seashore
that occasionally you see woman with
every nail on her feet threaded by rough
lines, and the color instead Of being a
bright. healthy pink, is yellow and un-
healthy? Then you have seen the results
of improperly dressing the feet Again,
You see the same disease manifest itself
in little holes that look as if the nail had
been worm eaten and was full of little
hollow pits. A poor circulation of the
blood resulting from indigestion, malaria
or squeezing the feet is the cause of all
this
Almost all the troubles Of the feet are
unnecessary. Caution and common sense
will prevent them. OF course there are
some forms of joint disease, equity and
rheumatic inflammations, for instance,
which the possessor is not directly respon-
sible for. but even these if taken in time
can be cured. Feet that perspire should
he washed every night and rubbed with
q weak solution of carbolic acid. The
stockings should be changed daily and the
shoes should have insoles that can be
changed as often as the stockings. The
soldiers of the Bavarian army are required
TO battle their feet every day and anoint
them with d pomade made of mutton tai
low and salicylic acid. This prevents
undue perspiration and keeps the feet
from becoming diseased. Most feet can
be kept healthy and soft by soaking them
in hot water before retiring and using
ammonia and soap freely Then they
should be rubbed briskly with rough
bath towel, and have small portion Of
glycerine spread over them. Care must be
taken. however, to use good soap. Bad
soap is the beginning of many evils
Much Of the most highly perfumed arti-
cles known to the trade is made from the
refuse of rendering houses and is full of
aIkai. Such soaps are positively injUri-
| Gus. Plenty of good soap, warm water, a
frequent change of dressing and shoes
that fit the foot will prevent any trouble
of local character, cure corns and bun
ions and prevent headaches and cold feet,
and sensible shoes and care of the feet
viii oftentimes do III a week what medf-
cines and the doctor could never accom-
p!ish. New York Nail and Express